21st August: Consualia

Consualia is an Ancient Roman festival which honours Consus, the god of the harvested grain and its storage. It was celebrated on this date. Here are ten facts about the god and the festival:

1. Consus is the Roman god of grain and grain storage and protector of grain silos. His symbol is a grain seed.
2. His name is probably derived from the Latin conserere meaning "to sow or plant".
3. His sacred animal is the Mule.
4. His altar was buried underground at the Circus Maximus in Rome, and was only uncovered on his feast days. His altar being buried underground makes him a hidden god of the lower regions.
5. There are two festivals in the Roman year dedicated to Consus - on August 21st and again on December 15.
6. On the Consualia days, Horses and mules were forbidden to work, and would be brought to the celebrations adorned with garlands of flowers. There would also be a mule race held on the day.
7. Consus has a consort, the fertility goddess, Ops. Her festival is always celebrated four days after his, ie on August 25 and December 19.
8. Consus was a member of the council of the Di Consentes ("Council of the Gods") formed by six gods and six goddesses, which would meet to help Jupiter make difficult decisions, like whether to destroy Atlantis.
9. According to legend, when Rome was first founded, there weren't any women there. Having had no success in trying to persuade women from neighbouring towns to relocate, Romulus discovered the buried altar of Consus, a previously unknown god. Romulus vowed he would keep a festival to Consus if he helped the Romans in their quest to get women. According to tradition, it was during the Consualia and its horse races that the Romans kidnapped the Sabine women which they married in order to found their nation.
10. When squirrelling away grain became less of a common practice, Consus became the god of secret conferences which is how we get words like council, conclave, and consultation.